Is it possible we have a new marketing definition on the block that we all should know about? Account Based Marketing (ABM) appears to be talked about more and more lately. As I read about the concept of ABM, it is my understanding that it is a strategic approach to lead generation in which the marketer targets a key group of accounts before they market to them. I feel this works very well in the agency environment when marketing firms have clients in a few industry sectors they want to grow like retail, healthcare and hospitality. Of course targeting groups make sense for the agency as a marketing strategy. However, crafting a strategy to go after groups is not new. I spent many years working in agencies and this is exactly what we did to market our agency. We didn’t call it ABM, we called it marketing, and it worked.
If I look at ABM from a non-agency marketing perspective, it sounds a lot like Inbound Marketing or Content Marketing. These two are based on personas and attracting leads with highly specific content designed for a persona. Additionally, with inbound and content marketing, the strategy is to write personalized content knowing whom you are targeting well before your content gets published.
From my perspective, it sounds to me like Account Based Marketing (ABM) is trying to come up with a new name for tried and true tactics that already work and already have a name. I will definitely give ABM originators an “A” for effort for trying to think of a way to leverage existing tactics. Maybe there is room for another marketing way of conducting business in an already crowded space of marketing tools and strategies. You just may be able to pull it off if: You clearly define your persona, determine a clear, concise message, call-to-action and customer offer based on where the customer is in the sales funnel. With this basic information, you will be able to capture targeted, qualified leads.
Yourbrandexposed.com is designed to look at digital with an eye into the future using a creative, innovative marketing perspective. We’re a consultative and tactical resource for companies looking to leverage the power of digital, social and content marketing strategies.
Scott MacFarland
Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottmacfarland
Twitter:@scmacfarland
Huffington Post:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-macfarland/
Email:YourBrandExposed@yahoo.com
_______
Sources:
Enterprise Guide
HubSpot
ContentMarketingInstitute